May 21, 1996
March 18, 2003
June 17, 2003
SECTION 5 Duties and Responsibilities of Commission Board
SECTION 6 Election of Officers
SECTION 9 Conflicting Ordinances
Whereas, under the provisions of the South Carolina Code of Laws, the Board of Commissioners shall determine its own rules of procedure governing meetings, notice, order of business, and agenda and;
Whereas, the Commission Board wishes to improve the control and order of its meeting, be it therefore ordained that all Commission meetings shall be governed by the following rules of procedure:
Meetings
Definitions: A quorum of the Commission Board assembled to discuss business constitutes a meeting. All meetings are governed by the South Carolina Freedom Of Information Act, Title 30, S.C. Code of Laws.
A majority of the total membership of the Commission Board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting Fire District business.
Unless prohibited due to a conflict of interest or other provision of S.C. Law, all members of the Board are required to vote when called upon to do so.
Notice: All meetings require an agenda that must be publicly posted in advance of the meeting. Interested parties may request notification of regular or special meetings.
Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by the Board Chairperson or by a majority of the Board. Special meetings require an agenda and at least 24 hours notice.
Work Sessions: Work sessions are to be treated as regular meetings and shall have an agenda.
Open Meetings: All meetings are open to the public. After properly convening a meeting, an executive session may be conducted as permitted by law ((SC Code 30-4-70) for certain personnel, contractual, legal and economic development matters.
Executive Session: An executive session shall only be convened by a majority vote of the Board. The reason for the session must be announced prior to the session. No formal action may be taken in executive session.
Agendas
Regular Meetings and Work Sessions:
Agendas shall be posted at least 24 hours before the time of the scheduled meeting.
Board members may add items to the posted agenda any time up to 24 hours before the scheduled time of the meeting.
Special Meetings:
Agendas for special meetings shall be posted 24 hours in advance of the scheduled time of the meeting.
General:
Agendas shall be maintained and posted on the public bulletin board in the front entranceway of the administrative area.
During the meeting, new items may be added to the agenda with the consent of a majority of the Board. If the new item requires a vote, the majority consent shall be a 2/3’s vote of the Board.
Items will be removed from the posted agenda only with the consent of a majority of the Board.
Order of Business:
All meetings shall be conducted in the following order:
1. Invocation
2. Approval of the Minutes (minutes are mailed to each member)
3. Unfinished Business
4. Committee Reports and District Reports
5. New Business
6. Finance Report
7. Citizen’s Agenda
8. Adjournment
SECTION 4.
Conduct of Meetings
The chairperson is the presiding officer for regular and special meetings. In the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall preside. In the absence of both, the secretary/treasurer shall preside over the meeting.
The presiding officer shall not abuse his or her position by controlling or directing debate to favor his or her views. The presiding officer shall assure that all Board members have an opportunity to express their views on matters properly presented for discussion. The presiding officer may temporarily relinquish the chair to engage in active debate or discussion.
During a meeting, Board members shall request permission of the presiding officer before speaking. One member shall speak at a time. A member may not speak a second time on a subject until all who wish to speak have done so.
Board members have the right to disagree, but shall not engage in shouting, arguments, or personally disrespectful behavior towards each other during meetings. Members are obligated to abide by a ruling of the presiding officer, unless a motion to appeal the ruling is seconded and passed by a majority vote. All citizens have a right to participate in, but not interrupt, Board meetings. Therefore, a time shall be set aside at every meeting to afford citizens an opportunity to speak on any Fire District related subject. Citizens wishing to speak shall add their name and address to a roster maintained by the Administrative Assistant.
Citizens may also request to be added to the Regular agenda at the next scheduled meeting. If a number of citizens wish to speak at any meeting, the presiding officer may reasonably limit the time allotted to each citizen and shall state the time limitations before the public comments begin.
In unusual cases and by a majority vote, the Board may permit public discussion on a specific subject during a meeting. Otherwise, no person from the audience may interrupt the Board meeting or address the Board unless recognized by the presiding officer. Citizens who have been denied permission to speak may be placed on the citizen’s agenda. Persons who are disorderly or who act in a threatening manner may be asked to leave the meeting room.
Specific Rules of Procedure may be temporarily suspended during a meeting by a favorable two-thirds vote of the Board members present.
Duties and Responsibilities of Commission Board
I. Establish Policy
A. Adopt goals and objectives
B. Establish priorities for public services
C. Approve and amend the operating and capital projects and budgets
D. Approve programs
E. Approve expenditures and payments
F. Approve contracts
G. Approve sites for location to keep fire-fighting equipment
H. Approve all employees, full time and volunteer
II. Supervision of Administration
A. Hire Fire Chief
B. Provide direction to Fire Chief
C. Evaluate Fire Chief
D. Evaluate programs
III. Supervision of Legal Matters
A. Hire District Attorney
B. Provide direction to District Attorney
C. Evaluate performance of District Attorney
IV. Represent Fire District
V. Provide Public Leadership
A. Transmit constituents’ wishes
B. Review alternatives
C. Decide on best course of action
SECTION 6.
Election of Officers
The officers of this board shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary/Treasurer. These officers shall be elected each November at the regular scheduled meeting.
Effective Date:
This Resolution shall become effective immediately after passage. (See date of front page)
Severability:
If any section or part of this resolution shall be found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid such finding shall not affect any other section or part and all sections and parts, are hereby declared to be severable.
Conflicting Ordinances:
This resolution shall supersede any existing and conflicting resolution or procedures or sections or part of resolutions.
References:
Freedom of Information Act SC Code of Laws Chapter 4 Section 30-4 2002
Ethics, Government Accountability, and Campaign Reform SC Laws Chapter 13 2002